This invention pertains to monitor wells and, more particularly, to a locking mechanisms for monitor wells.
Monitor wells are important for landfills, waste disposal sites, and areas around underground and above ground storage tanks to monitor for leakage, contamination, and environmental compliance. Monitor wells are useful to monitor water depth and fluctuations in the water table. Monitor wells are also useful to take samples of the water for chemical analysis to detect the presence of impurities, such as inorganic compounds, petroleum products, metals, and various pollutants which could be harmful to people, animals, fish, trees and plants. There are above ground monitor wells, slush mounted monitor wells, and underground and submerged monitor wells.
It is important that monitor wells be accurate and in good working condition to obtain accurate data and information. For these purposes, monitor wells are typically covered by a cover and lid to protect the monitor well from environmental hazards and stresses, such a rain, snow, sleet, hail, ice, wind, blazing sun, as well as from dust and dirt. The lid and cover are usually locked to prevent unauthorized persons from tampering with the monitor well as well as to prevent wildlife, e.g. deer, raccoons, gophers, etc. from damaging the monitor well.
Traditionally, monitor well covers and lids are locked with an external padlock located on the outside of the cover or lid. Unfortunately, the conventional arrangement causes many problems. The external padlock often rusts or otherwise become inoperable because of prolonged exposure to extreme climatic conditions, e.g. rain, snow, sleet, hail, ice, wind, dust, dirt, etc. Furthermore, external padlocks are readily accessible and can be tampered, jammed, damaged, cut or severed, e.g. with bolt cutters. Vandals can open external locks and gain access to tamper with, damage and/or dump waste in the monitor well.
It is, therefore, desirable to develop an improved locking assembly which overcomes most, if not all, of the preceding problems.